Khyber's Rival
by I Prefer Periwinkle
Summary: When Khyber's rival makes an appearance, Ben will be the one who suffers the consequences.


He chuckled. "Don't worry Khyber, I'm not going to kill your precious trophy. That would defeat the purpose. However, that doesn't mean I can't rough him up a little. Just to, ah... demonstrate who is the superior hunter." He stated.

He turned his attention downward to Ben, who was lying dazed on the floor, due to a blow to the back of his head. He gently inched his foot under Ben's stomach and lifted him up to roll him onto his back.

"And I happen to know that these humans are especially tender around the middle."

He lifted his leg, and swiftly brought the heel of his large foot down hard into Ben's right side. A loud crack echoed around the room as several of his ribs fractured under the force of the blow. Ben immediately arched his back, crying out in agony. Khyber yelled in anger, and lurched forward in an attempt to get to his injured enemy, but his efforts were impeded by the chains tethering him to the wall behind him.

'_Those ribs are going to take weeks to heal!_' Khyber thought bitterly. _'It's not sporting to hunt injured prey, especially now because his injuries were caused by someone else_.'

Ben clenched his eyes shut and rolled onto his left side, away from Khyber and his twisted rival. He clamped his arms tightly to his injured side, and Khyber could see his small chest struggling to rise and fall. The act of taking the smallest of breaths must be excruciating with broken ribs. Khyber pitied the child, his rival was notorious for being a merciless brute. He knew he needed to act fast, his young prey couldn't take much more.

Luckily, before Khyber could say anything more, his rival spoke up.

"Since I'm willing to bet that fragile human won't endure much more than that, I guess now would be a good time for me to finish the preparations. I'll leave you two alone for now. Don't worry though, I will be back soon."

He turned his back to them and began walking to the entrance of the room. Ben opened one eye and squinted at the retreating form of his abuser. They watched him close the heavy metal door. Only when the door closed behind his rival did Khyber's electro magnetic chains fizzle and then shut off, leaving him free to rush to his enemy's side.

He crouched down on one knee behind Ben's back, looming over his small form. He noted the blood running down the side of Ben's face, and realized he must have a concussion. He laid a hand over top of Ben's arms, which were still clutched tightly around his side.

"Let me see." Khyber demanded. Ben slowly curled himself into a protective ball, in an attempt to escape Khyber's touch.

"Tennyson, I need to see how bad it is," Khyber insisted. "If one of your ribs managed to puncture your lung, you may require surgery."

Khyber began to gently pry Ben's arms away from his side. Ben, in too much pain to think clearly, relented with a soft sigh. As soon as Ben's arms lay out of the way, Khyber hooked his large fingers under Ben's black shirt and began to lift it up, careful not to graze the boys skin with his sharp fingertips. The large angry bruise that had already began forming looked agonizing. He hissed in sympathy as Ben tensed up and grunted when he lightly placed his fingertips on the wound.

"Please- stop, don-don't touch it... it hurts." Ben pleaded, his features screwed up in pain. Khyber's face softened in sympathy.

"I know it hurts, he did quite a number on you. I'm sorry, but I need to apply some pressure to check to see if your ribs punctured your-" Ben cut him off.

"No!" He cried out desperately, his shirt falling down as he curled in on himself even more. "Please, I- I'm okay... really. You don't need to do this-" Ben suddenly began coughing.

Ben's body convulsed with each wet, painful cough, and it was clear the child was in a state of complete and total agony. Khyber lifted his hand away from Ben in surprise. If he wasn't convinced before, he sure was now. Ben's lung had been punctured.

"Calm down, you're alright. Just breathe, in and out. " Khyber soothed, rubbing Ben's back in an attempt to quell the onslaught of coughing. Ben tried to follow Khyber's instructions, desperate to alleviate the deep pain in his chest, but the need to clear his lungs and his airway overwhelmed him. When his coughing fit ceased he lay limp on his side, his chest heaving as tears of pain streamed down his face.

"There you go, easy..." Khyber whispered. Ben didn't have the strength to keep his eyes open, let alone protest when Khyber once again lifted his shirt to inspect his side.

Khyber knew if his prey had any chance of recovery he needed immediate medical attention, and right now, Khyber was his only hope. Ben had started to become dizzy, both from shortness of breath and the hit to his head, and was trying against all odds to remain conscious. Everything started to blur together, including Khyber, who had taken notice of Ben's sudden silence and was desperately attempting to keep him awake by calling his name, gripping his face and gently shaking him. Slowly his vision grew dimmer and dimmer until Khyber's voice was the last thing that echoed in his mind, then he knew no more.

Frustrated, Khyber rolled Ben onto his back carefully. Ben's head flopped to the side, his bangs covering most of his eyes. He should be grateful Tennyson had passed out, at least if the child was unconscious he would feel no more pain. However, Khyber knew it was dangerous for him to be unconscious while he was suffering from a concussion, he didn't want his prey to slip into a coma. He decided he'd take advantage of his unconsciousness, and do his best to bind the ribs and take care of his head injury before attempting to wake him.

Once again he slipped his clawed fingers underneath Ben's shirt, and this time instead of only lifting Ben's shirt up halfway, he lifted it up and over his head, discarding it close by. He was about to being searching for some makeshift bandages, when he noticed the bruise again. It had begun to spread, and it now covered Ben's entire right side. No wonder Tennyson had difficulty breathing.

Ben's chest rose and fell with stuttering breaths, and Khyber suddenly realized just how small and fragile his enemy really was. Curious, Khyber slipped both of his hands underneath Ben on both sides of his chest, forcing Ben's small torso upwards and his head lolled backwards as he just held him there, amazed at the difference between him and his prized foe. Khyber could feel the small heartbeat beating abnormally fast, no doubt trying to compensate for the lack of oxygen it was receiving. Normally, this prey of his was in constant motion. To witness such a ball of energy so still and motionless was disconcerting.

When Ben's breath hitched from being in such a position, Khyber quickly set him back down and stood up, revisiting his quest for bandages. Luckily, Khyber's rival hadn't bothered with a regular cell, and instead left them in a large laboratory type room. Not that the room itself wasn't equipped with preventative escape measures. It was in one of the cupboards he discovered the medical kit which had been pushed to the back, no doubt due to the fact that an alien the size and caliber of Khyber's rival would not require such minuscule supplies. Ben, however, could certainly benefit from them.

Once Khyber had what he wanted he returned to his fallen enemy, retrieving the bandages from the medical kit. Getting right to work, he slid one of his large hands under Ben's back, lifting him upwards and forwards. Placing his other hand on Ben's chest, he supported him there as he wound strip after strip of thick gauze around his patient's slender chest. He could feel the rise and fall of his injured enemy's chest as he lay slumped in his hand, Ben's head had rolled forward and was laying against the hand that was supporting his chest. Once Khyber was finished, he then pulled Ben's shirt back over his head, and gently laid him back down until his back was flush against the floor.

Khyber had noticed another item within the medical kit that would certainly aid in his plight. He retrieved the bottle of Aspirin from the kit, pouring three capsules into the palm of his hand, when suddenly he heard a slight moan. Realizing his enemy was waking up, he sighed before pushing his thumb and index fingers into Ben's cheeks, forcing his jaws apart. He then dumped the Aspirin into Ben's mouth, releasing his hold. Covering his mouth so he wouldn't spit them out, he leaned Ben's head back and gently began massaging his throat in an attempt to activate his swallowing reflex. It was working, until Ben's foggy mind had become aware of what was happening.

Ben began weakly struggling, arching his back and lifting his hands to his mouth. Khyber clamped down harder over his mouth, still rubbing his throat, which finally forced him to swallow. As soon as Khyber took his hand away from his mouth, Ben took a deep breath, and instantly regretted it. His side exploded in a fresh new wave of pain, and Ben twisted onto his left side to try to escape the discomfort.

"Relax Tennyson," Khyber began. "Try not to strain yourself. Easy... there now." Once again clutching his right side, he slowly opened his eyes to see Khyber hovering over him, watching his every move.

"What-" Ben winced. "Whaddid you do?" He slurred.

"I gave you some pain medication. It will also help prevent any internal inflammation." Khyber responded indifferently.

Still not completely aware of his surroundings, Ben shifted his eyes around until he noticed how tight his chest felt. He looked down, lifting his arms up to grip the bottom of his shirt. Khyber watched as he pulled his shirt up to reveal the bottom of the white bandages the greatest hunter in the galaxy had so gently wrapped around him.

Khyber then began to roll Ben onto his back again, with a little resistance from Ben. As soon as he was as comfortable as he was going to get, he laid his head back and closed his eyes. The headache was beginning to set in again, and it was making him sleepy. Khyber placed his had on top of Ben's stomach, well away from his wounded side.

"Stay awake this time, Tennyson." Ben groaned in response. Khyber persisted. "I mean it."


End file.
